Outboard motor carrier cradle



April 6, 1965 A w. M.WOLFORD OUTBOARD MOTOR CARRIER "CRADLE Filed April 12, 1963 v INVENTOR. WHM QM k' "63, Q. 74m.

United States Patent 3,176,948 {BUTBOARD MOTGR flARRlER CRADLE William M. Wolford, Qllnton, Mo. Filed Apr. 12, 1963, Ser, No. 272,769 5 (Ilaims. (6i. 248-119) This is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 131,834, filed August 16, 1961, now abandoned.

This invention concerns article carriers and more particularly outboard motor carriers specifically intended to facilitate the manual handling of outboard motors.

Gutboard motors, because of the many parts and the coordinated functioning required, are heavy and cumbersome articles as well as'complicated devices requiring careful handling to avoid damage. Many outboard motor owners frequently transport them between their homes and various bodies of water, requiring the handling of the motor at each end of the trip, along with its careful disposition to avoid damage during the trip. To preclude transportation damage, it is necessary to maintain a definite fixed position of the motor such that contact of the outwardly extending components of the motor which may be readily bent or broken is prevented. Various schemes for so doing have heretofore been employed, such as the use of ordinary hand trucks in loading and unloading the motor, and the use of an inflated automobile tire inner tube as a supporting member or cushion.

It appears that none of the prior art devices provide a. light, simple and compact carrier cradle enabling the easy and safe handling of outboard motors, which may be quickly adjusted for accommodating various sizes of motors and to which a motor may be readily releasably attached for transporting in a horizontal position. I have found that the problem of handling the unwieldly but delicate outboard motor mechanism can be substantially solved by means of the invention herein described.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a light, inexpensive, simple and sturdy carrier cradle for facilitating the safe handling of outboard motors.

The construction and mode of operation of my inven tion will be readily understood from the following descrip tion taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the invention;

H6. 2 is a cross sectional view of the cradle, taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view of the forward carrier member, taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2.

Referring first to FIG. 1, the reference characters 10 and 11 indicate a pair of transversely spaced, upstanding and elongated loops of tubular material, each loop as here shown being substantially trapezoidal in contour and positioned to define parallel vertical planes. Aluminum tubing is a desirable material from which to form the loops because of its relatively light weight. The loop 10 includes the longitudinally extending lower base portion 16, the vertically spaced longitudinally extending upper portion 12, and the extended handle portions 14 and 18. Similiarly, the loop 11 includes the base portion 17, the upper portion 13, and the handle portions 15 and 19.

A pair of opposed side plates 26 and 21 are rigidly secured, as by welding, to the respective upper and lower portions of the loops all and 11, and the rear motor carrier member including the transom 23 and the transom plate 22 extends transversely between the side plates 26 and 21, the transom support plate .22 being provided at its respective ends with a flange, an indicated at 25, for attachment to the side plates by means of the fasteners 24. The transom 23, as shown in FIG. 2, is secured to the transverse plate 22 by the bolts 26, and at a convenient angle for receiving the stern clamp of an outboard motor.

Patented Apr. 6, 1965 The forward transverse carrier member, shown in more detail at FIG. 3, includes the beam member 27, one end of which is loosely attached to the upper portion 13 of the loop 11 by means of a U-shaped attaching member 29, the latter being secured to the beam member 27 by the rivets 33. Similarly, the other end of the beam member is loosely attached to'the upper portion 12 of the loop Ill, by means of the member 28 and the rivets 32. Spaced apart on each side of the midpoint of the beam 27 are secured thereon, as by welding, the ears 30, to which the respective ends of the buckled strap 31 are fastened.

In use, the freely slidable forward carrier member is first moved to the desired position to accommodate the size of outboard motor to be handled. The motor, for example, that indicated by the dashed lines of FIG. 2 and the numeral 34, is disposed horizontally on the cradle with the stern bracket clamp fitted over the transom 23. The stern bracket clamp is then manipulated to'rigidly secure the motor to the rear carrier member, and the strap 31 placed around the lower gear housing and buckled to secure the motor to the forward carrier member. The motor is then in condition for transport with the cradle, for example, in an automobile trunk compartment, the use of the handle portions of the cradle making the loading and unloading of the motor a relatively simple procedure.

While I have shown and described a specific embodiment of my invention, other modifications are possible Within the spirit of my invention, and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications within the scope of my invention.

1 claim, as my invention:

1. An outboard motor carrier cradle comprising a pair of laterally spaced, upstanding loops of tubular material, each loop having vertically spaced, longitudinally extending upper and lower portions, the spacing between said portions being substantially less than the long di mension of said loops, longitudinally spaced and transversely extending forward and rear carrier members joining said loops intermediate the respective ends thereof, the rear carrier member being rigidly joined to said loops within the space delineated by said pair of loops and having attached thereto fixed transom means adapted to receive the stern bracket clamp of the motor, the forward carrier member being mounted on and freely slidable along said longitudinally extending upper portions, and cooperating with said rear carrier member for structurally maintaining said upstanding loops in vertical spaced parallel relationship, releasable fastening means at the midpoint of said forward carrier member for engaging the lower gear housing of said motor and holding the motor in a plane substantially parallel to said longitudinally extending upper and lower portions.

2. The construction set forth in claim 1, in which each of said loops is substantially trapezoidal in contour.

3. The construction set forth in claim 1, in which handle portions for said carrier are included in and provided by the longitudinal extension of the respective end portions of each loop beyond said carrier members when the latter are in the position of maximum longitudinal spacing.

4. An outboard motor carrier cradle comprising a pair of laterally spaced, upstanding and elongated trapezoidal loops of tubular material, each loop having an upper portion parallel to the upper portion of the other, a rear carrier member rigidly joining said loops within the space delineated thereby, transom means rigidly fixed to said rear carrier member for receiving the stern bracket clamp of an outboard motor, a freely slidable forward carrier member loosely attached to and extending transversely between the parallel upper portions of said loops, said forward carrier member cooperating with said rear carrier member for maintaining the upper portions of said loops 3,176,948 in p in parallel relationship, and releasable fastening means attached to said forward carrier member for, engaging the lower portion of an outboard motorrwhich is clamped to said transom means, thereby positioning and holding said motor with its long axis substantially parallel to said parallel upper portions and restraining movement of the freely slidable forward carrier member. V 5. An outboard motor carrier cradle comprising a pair 7 of transversely spaced, upstanding'and elongated loops of tubular material, each loophaving vertically spaced,

longitudinally extending upperjand lower portions joined at their respective ends by forwardly and rearwardly extended handle portions, a pair of opposed side plates rigidly secured to and joining the upper and lower longitudinally extending portions of each of said loops between the respective ends thereof and maintaining said last-named portions in vertically spaced'parallel relationship with respect to one another, a rear carrier member adapted to receive the stern bracket clamp of an outboard motor, said rear carrier member being fixed at its respective ends to said plates and extending transversely therebetween, a forward carrier member longitudinally and forwardly spaced from said rear carrier member and joining the respective upper longitudinally extending portions of said loops, said forward carrier member being mounted on and freely slidable along said upper portions of said loops in parallel relationship to said rear carrier member and cooperating therewith to provide the sole meansfor maintaining the upper portions of said loops' in parallel relationship, and a fastener on said forward carrier member for engaging the lower housing, of the outboard motor and thereby restraining movement of the freely slidable forward carrier member. 7

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Exan iiner. CLAUDE A. LEROY, Examiner.

8/63 Halverson 248--4 X 

1. AN OUTBOARD MOTOR CARRIER CRADLE COMPRISING A PAIR OF LATERALLY SPACED, UPSTANDING LOOPS A TUBULAR MATERIAL, EACH LOOP HAVING A VERTICALLY SPACED, LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS, THE SPACING BETWEEN SAID PORTIONS BEING SUBSTANTIALLY LESS THAN THE LONG DIMENSION OF SAID LOOPS, LONGITUDINALLY SPACED AND TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING FORWARD AND REAR CARRIER MEMBERS JOINING SAID LOOPS INTERMEDIATE THE RESPECTIVE ENDS THEREOF, THE REAR CARRIER MEMBER BEING RIGIDLY JOINED TO SAID LOOPS WITHIN THE SPACE DELINEATED BY SAID PAIR OF LOOPS AND HAVING ATTACHED THERETO FIXED TRANSOM MEANS ADAPTED TO RECEIVE THE STERN BRACKET CLAMP OF THE MOTOR, THE FORWARD CARRIER MEMBER BEING MOUNTED ON AND FREELY SLIDABLE ALONG SAID LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING UPPER PORTIONS, AND COOPERATING WITH SAID RAER CARRIER MEMBER FOR STRUCTURALLY MAINTAINING SAID UPSTANDING LOOPS IN VERTICAL SPACED PARALLEL RELATIONSHIP, RELEASABLE FASTENING MEANS AT THE MIDPOINT OF SAID FORWARD CARRIER MEMBER FOR ENGAGING THE LOWER GEAR HOUSING OF SAID MOTOR AND HOLDING THE MOTOR IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS. 